Over the last two years the Melanie Jewson Foundation has been exploring the possibility of gaining Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status in our own right.

Up until now, the MJF has been an auspice of Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) so that our donors could claim their donations as a tax deduction. When the MJF was established, Australian taxation rules made it very difficult to be granted DGR status when all our work was based outside the country. We are very grateful for the support of RAWCS and also the Belmont Rotary Club for supporting the MJF over the past 10 years.

With the exceptional support of Hugo Le Clerc at the law firm Harwood Andrews here in Geelong, we are pleased to announce that the Melanie Jewson Foundation is now registered as a recognised charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) as a Public Benevolent Institution and as such, has been granted DGR status by the Australian Taxation Office.

A celebration is being planned for later in the year to celebrate this fine achievement and to commemorate our 10th anniversary. The MJF was established formally in April 2012 and we are looking forward to an exciting event to acknowledge this great achievement and a bright future ahead.